For the past six months or so, Nick has been obsessed with spies and espionage. Fingerprinting kits. Secret recording devices. Alarms and the like. Many items of which made his birthday list earlier in the month. I have since explained that he can take this newfound interest and parlay it into a career with the CIA, FBI or Secret Service and he was more than a little thrilled . Which makes me happy. I would love for him to have a career that he is passionate about, and although his future direction is his choice, even better if he finds something early on and can direct his decisions appropriately to follow that path.
When we were googling things to see in Washington DC for our recent weekend escape, this spy museum was one of the links that Nick found, and given his penchant for all things spy-related, it quickly got added to our must-see list. All the better to break up the monuments, historical stuff and endless walking. On this 800 block, there is the spy museum, a cafe and a gift shop, all related and connected. Is it terrible to say that we completely skipped the museum and opted for the gift shop and cafe instead? No? Good. ‘Cause that’s precisely what we did. The museum is a little on the spendy side – normally $92 for a family of four, but currently discounted to $65 (no discount for AAA) – and if I thought all four of us would get the benefit, I would have done it. But there’s a lot of reading, and I knew Madeline wouldn’t be up for it. I didn’t want to push her, nor waste my money, so we did the next best thing. We ate and shopped.
First, a quick stop in the corner Spy City Cafe for cookies, french fries and Diet Coke. We had already done all our White House and assorted other area sightseeing, so this was a perfect spot to duck in for a few minutes of air-conditioned relief and a quick snack. They have a light breakfast and lunch menu and pretty decent seating. The fries were slightly crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. The chocolate chip cookies were adored by the kids. I’ve never seen them inhale cookies so fast.
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